Winter Blossoms
by xxHimejii
Summary: "What were you thinking!" He yelled, anger evident in his voice. Unbeknownst to her, there was worry and fear hidden in his words. "Oh nothing..." But she replied with her voice void of emotion. Her emerald eyes dull and hollow as it gazed right through his soul. "I just thought I'd do everyone a favor if I disappeared."
1. Prologue

In which Sakura is tired of feeling.

In which Sasuke starts feeling.

In which everything is going slow for her.

In which everything is going too fast for him.

In which Sakura is withering.

In which Sasuke is blooming.

••••••

 _"What were you thinking?!" He yelled, anger evident in his voice. Unbeknownst to her, there was worry and fear hidden in his words._

 _He had always wondered how her voice would sound like calling his name. He imagined it to be warm and sweet, inviting and loving._

 _"Oh nothing..." But she replied with her voice void of emotion. Her emerald eyes dull and hollow as it gazed right through his very soul._

 _"I just thought that I'd do everyone a favor if I disappeared."_


	2. One

You would assume that after the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom would be happily spending their time with each other. Some would go for a honeymoon trip in another country, some would just stay at home and spend their first night together passionately. But it doesn't always work that way. Especially when none of the two wanted the marriage.

Haruno Sakura sat by the window, still on her beautiful wedding gown. The white gown was too much already for her pale skin, but it wasn't like she cared. It was snowing outside and she found it fascinating that the first snow fell on the day of her wedding. 'Her wedding', the sound of it was beautiful for everyone. To her parents, her husband's parents and their colleagues. It would've been nice if she had friends too. But who could she blame? When it was her fault she had none.

There actually was and the certain blonde was daintily making her way upstairs to her room. She saw the groom in the living room but paid her no heed. _The wedding was a good show_ , the blonde thought to herself as she removed her gaze to the groom. Everyone thought it was the the most perfect couple that could have ever wed. But she could feel it, she could feel how much they bothered her to fake her beautiful smile which didn't fail to fool everyone. Everyone but Ino and her husband Sai. If all their friends from the past were there with her, they would've known in an instant.

Facing her door, she softly knocked but received no reply. She opened the door gently nonetheless, and peered. There she was. The last time she saw the girl, her pink hair was still shoulder length but now her hair beautifully cascaded down her spine.

She closed the door with enough force to tell the pinkette that she had a guest but it was no use because she deliberately ignored it. The visitor sighed gently at the sight. Haruno Sakura, the girl she once called her rival, the girl who was once strong and outspoken, bright like the sun, blooming and beautiful like her name, the girl she once called her friend. When was the last time she was all that? _Oh right._ She thought, remembering when. _When that person..._

"Ino." Yamanaka Ino's heart clenched. All what her friend was before was not she was seeing now. Lifeless green pair of orbs looked at her and she forced herself not to look away. There was also coldness in her voice when she regarded her. _What had they done to her? I... I don't know who she is anymore._

"Sakura." Ino gave the girl a hearty smile. "I can't believe you look even more beautiful than me in a wedding dress!" She whined, hoping to ease the tension in this very room. But her hope was crushed when the pinkette only stared and said nothing. Sakura turned back to the view she was staring at before the blonde came in. She didn't know Ino was there but it wasn't like she looked at anyone from the audience. She couldn't or they'll know.

"I'd like to change now." Very slowly, Sakura stood from her seat.

Ino smiled sadly at her friend. "I'm sure you do."

•••

Closing the door behind her, Ino now couldn't help the tears. It made her regret leaving the country at such a wrong time. She couldn't even be there the day Sakura suffered the most. Right now, all she could feel is uselessness. Everything just went 360 from there. She felt lucky that Sakura could still at least remember who she was.

She was about to leave, but she couldn't help herself. Ino stopped on her tracks and looked at him. She wanted to scream and lash at him, she wanted to blame him, she wanted to do everything that Sakura would've done to people who have hurt Ino... but she couldn't. Because none of all these was his fault. He was dragged just the same. The only difference was how they coped with it. "Spring..." Cold onyx orbs turned to her when she spoke but she wouldn't let that intimidate her. Nothing intimidates Yamanaka Ino. "Spring is a beautiful season."

Sasuke sat on the couch leisurely. It has been a long day. A day that doesn't need to be celebrated. What Yamanaka Ino had said did not bother him, but it did hide at the back of his mind. Marriage. He never thought he would be tied in such a relationship. Sasuke never wanted to, nor did he even plan to. But here he was, married to someone he barely knew, married to the daughter of his family's business partner.

He hated it, he hated the fact that no matter how much he thinks that he doesn't need his father's love, he knew deep inside that he wanted to be accepted. Sasuke didn't think that it would result to this. Haruno Sakura was nothing but a pawn, just like him. A pawn for a better business relationship. He doesn't know if he should feel pity because of this or anger because if it wasn't for her, there wouldn't be marriage in their minds.

Sasuke's house was no different from how it was. Empty and silent. Even with his now 'wife' under the same roof. Nothing changed that much. Maybe, just maybe, he could live with this.


	3. Two

Sasuke had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Sakura. He made enough breakfast for himself, and then left for work. He'll come home at night either cooking dinner for himself or not, probably already have eaten outside. These simple actions were observed by Sakura in the span of three days after their marriage. She didn't mind nor she was offended. The days after their marriage, Sakura learned to know the usual time Sasuke left and came back. During the time he's away is the time she leaves her room. The first day she went around the house and memorised where is where. On the third floor of the mansion, one room was locked. Sakura figured that it was his room. His study, however, was unlocked. She was fascinated by the amount of books inside but she didn't dare touch anything. During her mini tour, she made sure she didn't leave evidences of her roaming around.

When she came upon the kitchen, it was well kept. It was obvious that he didn't use much since there were only few used kitchen utensils. The refrigerator only had enough for a person living in such a huge house. _How long has he been living alone?_ The question passed by her thoughts but didn't stay long when unwashed dishes caught her eyes. She contemplated whether she should do something about them or leave them be. Washing them would indicate that she left her room.

Her dull eyes stared at the sink. She washed them, thinking to herself that it was just a small detail for him to notice. But he did notice. Sasuke lazily checked the refrigerator but nothing changed from how he had left it. Again, Haruno Sakura did not have a meal. But he didn't care. Or did he?

The next day he noticed the remote on the coffee table. He noticed the pitcher of water wasn't full. Sasuke is known to be a keen observer. He never misses any details especially when it comes to business. He reads people well and no one could ever fool him. But he can never tell what these little things his wife does meant. There wasn't much to know anyway, since he never saw her after they arrived at his home from their wedding. Since then she became a mystery. And he hated how little he knew. He hated the feeling of being clueless.

The day he had had enough was the day his wife, Haruno Sakura, now Uchiha, showed herself. He decided to take the day off so he slept in. If she was surprised to see him walk in the kitchen in his kitchen, she was good at masking it. She stared right at him with the same empty green eyes while she was giving her vows of lies. Sakura was just about to pour water on an empty glass when he came in. The sight of him in his plain white shirt did not have an effect on her. She hoped it had, it would've been better if she felt something or anything. She dropped her gaze to the pitcher and slowly placed it on the counter.

"Finally decided to show yourself huh?" Sasuke sneered at her with a cruel smirk.

There was silence before the pinkette nodded with a soft, "Yes." This pissed him off. _That's it? How boring._ He noticed that she didn't get to drink the water she wanted and just walked past him. He wanted t stop her and be angry but why would he? She wasn't doing anything wrong.

Sakura looked at the small clock on her bedside table. _He was here the whole time._ She thought to herself. For a while she stood in the middle of the room, and stared at the gentle fall of the snow. Sakura walked to her closet and blinked at the sight. She wasn't given the chance to pack her things up before she moved in. It wasn't a surprise that all she had in her closet right now was a pale pink sundress which didn't even match the weather. She changed into it, deciding to just buy a coat along the way.

During off days, Sasuke would usually go out for some fun. For some reason, today he felt like staying home with reasons he was not sure of. The sound of steps distracted him, turning to the source, Sasuke frowned at the sight of her in a beautiful sundress. Her long pink hair braided behind her.

When Sakura's eyes locked to his, she thought that she'd at least say something. "I'm going out for a while." This only gave him a hot feeling inside. Is she going out because he was home? Is she subtly telling him that she didn't want to stay in the same place as him? Or is she...?

"Gonna go meet your man?" He spat coldly, making it sound like it was actually what she was about to do. But there was no man Sakura was going to and for a moment he hated himself for accusing her but she paid no mind, knowing that she had said what she had to say. Leaving the atmosphere cold like the weather, she left.

"Damn it."

For the first time in his life, Sasuke felt guilty. Rubbing his face with his hand, he groaned inwardly. _The least you could've done was offer her a coat._

It has been a while since she walked outside. She only hoped that she felt warmer so the first thing she did was drive to a nearby mall and got herself a new set of clothes and a winter coat. Along with the bag that had her sundress were more bags of new clothes. Enough to fill her closet for the season which meant a lot.

In the shadows stood a guy who had his eyes fixed on the girl. He eyed the bags in her hands, it was a lot for a small girl like her to carry but she showed no sign of struggling so he pushed the thought of helping her and continued watching.

Sakura placed the bags inside her car before closing the car door. She decided to leave it in the parking area and walk around instead. She was already warm enough after all, she bought a pair of gloves a little while back. The pinkette only hoped she had bought a scarf as well, her nose was a bit stuffy already. She looked up the sky and thought for a while.

 _Maybe I should go grab something to eat._ A girl with her status would naturally go for a restaurant. But she wasn't that type of girl. She once lived a life of a normal high school girl in a normal public school. She used to eat at fast food chains with her classmates and went to cafes with her friends. Sakura even experienced going to a Karaoke and even went on group dates. All of those were now nothing but a blur of memories. But she still did know what her favorite fast food meal was.

After that day, she remembered each and every day. She realized who she really was after losing the only person who had loved her. She realized how she was nothing, how unimportant she was, and how unloved. Only the maids cared if she hadn't had her meal, only the maids cared if she felt cold or hot. Only the maids cared that she might be bored inside her room. Only the maids cared if her room was clean or dirty. Only maids cared. But she could only imagine how tired they were of taking care of her.

It was funny how she was in the same predicament as her mother and father years ago. Married to a person they did not know. She wouldn't even be surprised if she lived her entire married life just like them. But there was a catch. Because she was not even sure if she'd bear a child with him with their current state. The thought was scary. If having a child meant that the baby would grow up knowing it was an offspring by title and not love, that would be sad. The thought of it growing up just like her is unbearable.

Sakura stopped and looked down at the snow piled up on her feet. She felt cold again.

•••

"How is married life going Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke looked up at the silver haired man and glared. He was mocking him, obviously. His long time mentor had the ability to hit him with the right words.

"Mind your own business Kakashi." Sasuke dropped on a bar stool and sighed. There was nothing out of ordinary that Sakura did today. Though there were random stops in the middle of the side walk and random staring which he did not comprehend well. She ate at a local food chain, after that she went to the grocery.

"Is she going to store those in her room?" He wondered out loud.

"Store what?"

"Nothing." Kakashi stared right at his student as he wiped a wine glass. The wedding he had just attended not long ago flashed through his mind. That was probably the most miserable wedding he had ever witnessed.

"Don't be too hard on the girl."

"What?" Sasuke looked up, glaring but curious nonetheless.

"Haruno Sakura. She used to be so bright. She went on a conplete 360 after going back to that roof." The statement only confused the young Uchiha.

"Back to their home? What are you talking about?" Kakashi pretended to gasp in horror which only irked the young lad.

"You mean you haven't had a heart to heart talk with your wife yet?! That's bad! When will I ever see baby Sasukes running around?!"

"Shut up." Kakashi sighed and placed the wine glass down before looking at him straight in the eye.

"At least have meals together."


End file.
